Meta

Pozole Rojo (Mexican Stew with Pork and Hominy)

Standard

Pozole is a deliciously hearty Mexican stew with hominy and either pork or chicken. The deep red broth is made with dried chile’s and aromatics such as onion, garlic and fresh oregano. The first time I made this was for my in-laws ( who are Mexican). It is safe to say that my mother-in-law had no complaints and was actually pretty impressed! SCORE!

INGREDIENTS:

Stock:

2 lbs pork butt or chicken

1 yellow onion, cut in quarters

1 garlic bulb, cut in half

3 bay leaves

Water

Chile Sauce:

5 dried ancho chiles, seeds and stem removed

5 dried guajillo chiles, seeds and stem removed

1 yellow onion, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves

Few sprigs of fresh oregano

Olive oil, for drizzling

Reserved water from soaked chiles

2 19oz cans of Hominy, drained and rinsed

Pozole Toppings:

Cabbage, sliced

Tortilla chips

Avocado

Lime

Radishes, sliced

Fresh oregano and/or cilantro

Queso fresco

Crema

Instructions:

In a large soup pot, add pork, 1 onion cut in quarters, 1 garlic bulb cut in half, 3 bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cover everything with water and allow to simmer for 2 hours. As water begins to evaporate, add hot water to keep the broth at the same amount.

While stock is cooking, make the chile sauce. Cut open your dried chile’s and remove all the seeds and stems. Soak the chiles in water for at least 30 minutes to soften.

When chiles are soft, add them to your blender (or food processor) as well as 1 onion (roughly chopped), 6 garlic cloves, few sprigs of fresh oregano, drizzle of olive oil and about 1/2 cup of the chile water (from soaking). You may need more depending on consistency. Blend everything together until it is all pureed.

When stock is done and pork is cooked through, remove pork to cutting board and shred or cut into bite size pieces. Discard stocks onion, garlic and bay. Then add the pureed chile sauce to pork stock and store through. Add hominy and cubed pork. Taste for seasoning.

Bring soup to a gentle simmer and allow to continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes.

When done, ladle soup into bowls and top with garnishes, such as sliced cabbage, sliced radishes, fresh oregano, avocado, like and tortilla chips.